Close to Home

Horse Visits Hospital To Bid Farewell To His Ailing Owner

It may be impossible to measure the love between people and their cherished animal companions, yet few things can be more easily perceived. Such is the case when it comes to the bond between a horse named Jake and his best friend, Lisa Beech.

The two first met at a farm sale in Kentucky 16 years ago, where Jake's original owner was too sick to care for him and thus eager to see him adopted. Beech hadn't been planning on getting a horse, but she fell for Jake immediately and decided to take him home. In return for her kindness, the horse rewarded her with many years of love and loyalty.

"Jake has been great to her," Beech's daughter, Amanda Sturgill, told The Dodo. "We have other horses now, but he's the one she claims as her own."

Sadly, their time together is nearly at its end. Just a few weeks ago, Beech was given the news that a cancer she'd battled since childhood had spread throughout her body and she hasn't much longer to live. With little warning, Beech was placed in hospice care at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, where she's said to be at peace with the short time she has left.

Knowing that Jake would want to say goodbye to his friend in her final days, Sturgill hatched a plan to have him come to her.Facebook/Greg KaysAfter arranging a visit with her mother's caretakers, Sturgill, along with family and friends, shuttled Jake to the hospital where Beech would be waiting with nurses out front."We had told her there was a big surprise for her," Sturgill said. "When we walked across the street with Jake and she saw what was going on, her face just lit up. She crying, she was so happy. We all started crying. Everybody was in tears."The touching reunion was a surprise to the horse as well, who seemed to somehow understand his friend would be leaving him soon."Jake marched right up there as soon as he heard her voice. His ears went forward and he just started marching. He's normally a horse that you have to kind of drag, because he's a bit lazy, but he was going - like, 'Nobody's going to stop me from getting to her,'" said Sturgill."He definitely knew exactly what was going on. He knew this would be the last time he sees her."(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Only my Daughter and Lisa Beech's Daughter could pull this off.Posted by Greg Kays on Sunday, September 20, 2015

After arranging a visit with her mother's caretakers, Sturgill, along with family and friends, shuttled Jake to the hospital where Beech would be waiting with nurses out front.

"We had told her there was a big surprise for her," Sturgill said. "When we walked across the street with Jake and she saw what was going on, her face just lit up. She crying, she was so happy. We all started crying. Everybody was in tears."

The touching reunion was a surprise to the horse as well, who seemed to somehow understand his friend would be leaving him soon.

"Jake marched right up there as soon as he heard her voice. His ears went forward and he just started marching. He's normally a horse that you have to kind of drag, because he's a bit lazy, but he was going - like, 'Nobody's going to stop me from getting to her,'" said Sturgill.

"He definitely knew exactly what was going on. He knew this would be the last time he sees her."

Sadly, it may not be long now until Sturgill too will say goodbye to her mother for the last time. But through the horse Beech has cared for so dearly all these years, her love will linger on long after she is gone.

"Jake is not ever going anywhere," Sturgill said. "He'll be with me forever."

"Jake is not ever going anywhere," Sturgill said. "He'll be with me forever."